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The 1996–97 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England. Promotion to and relegation from the Football League returned after a three-season absence, with one relegation spot in Division Three.
Overview
Premier League
Manchester United won their second consecutive title, despite a spell in the autumn where they lost three games and conceded 13 goals. They won the title by seven points, as Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool fell away in the closing weeks. Nevertheless, their tally of 75 points is the lowest ever recorded by a Premier League winner.
Newcastle United finished second again and qualified for the Champions League preliminary stages, while Arsenal, Liverpool and Leicester City (League Cup winners) qualified for the UEFA Cup.
The three teams relegated were Sunderland, Middlesbrough (after a three-point deduction) and Nottingham Forest.
Division One
Bolton Wanderers secured promotion to the Premiership after scoring 100 goals and 98 points. Barnsley were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history, while Crystal Palace returned after a two-year absence by winning the play-offs.
The decline of Oldham Athletic continued, with the club falling into the third tier for the first time in 23 years, and just three years after being in the Premiership. Grimsby Town and Southend United joined them in relegation to Division Two.
Division Two
Bury won their second consecutive promotion, taking the Division Two title, Stockport County joined them in automatic promotion, and play-off winners Crewe Alexandra completed the trio moving up.
Peterborough United, Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United and Notts County were relegated. County had been in the top division just five years earlier.
Division Three
Wigan Athletic won the Division Three title on goals scored from Fulham. Carlisle United and play-off winners Northampton Town also won promotion to Division Two.
Hereford United were the first club for four years to be relegated to the Conference after finishing bottom of Division Three. Conference champions Macclesfield Town replaced Hereford (two years after Town had been denied entry to Division Three).
Peter Shilton who joined Leyton Orient F.C. at the beginning of the season, became the first footballer to make 1000 league appearances in English football on 22 December 1996.
Events
This was only the second time that all four divisional champions came from the same historical county, Lancashire. In 1972-73 all four - Liverpool, Burnley, Bolton and Southport - were also Lancashire-based.
Keegan quits Newcastle
On 5 January 1997, Newcastle United were hit with perhaps the biggest shock in their history: Kevin Keegan resigned as manager. His reason for quitting was that he felt he had taken the club as far as he could. During his five years at St James's Park, Keegan had overseen a revolution in Newcastle's fortunes. On his appointment in February 1992, the club had been second from bottom in the old Second Division and looked favourites for relegation, but he kept them in the Second Division and they were founder members of the new Division One in 1992–93. A superb run of form kept them at the top of the division all season and they went up to the Premiership as Division One champions. Third and sixth-place finishes followed before Newcastle led the Premiership for most of 1995–96, only to be overhauled by Manchester United in the final weeks of the season. He had walked out on Newcastle as they looked well placed to challenge for a league title. Kenny Dalglish was appointed manager of Newcastle in Keegan's place.
Manchester United
Manchester United collected their fourth Premiership title in five seasons, despite a testing period which saw them lose their 40-year unbeaten home record in Europe against Turkish club Fenerbahçe, suffer elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Wimbledon, and concede 13 goals in three Premiership games during late October, including a 5–0 defeat by Newcastle United and a 6–3 defeat by Southampton. Alex Ferguson had built on the success of the previous season's double-winning team thanks largely to two new signings – Norwegians Ronny Johnsen (central defender) and Ole Gunnar Solskjær (striker). The two Norwegians were little known outside their homeland when they arrived at Old Trafford. Johnsen proved himself as one of the Premiership's best defenders, while Solskjær topped the club's goalscoring charts with 18 Premiership goals. Meanwhile, 22-year-old midfielder David Beckham won the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Cantona retires
On 18 May, Eric Cantona announced his retirement from playing.
Middlesbrough relegated
Middlesbrough were relegated from the Premiership despite reaching both domestic cup finals during the season. They finished the season in 19th place, and would have avoided relegation had it not been for a 3-point deduction imposed in January as punishment for postponing a fixture against Blackburn Rovers within 24 hours of the scheduled kick-off. Chairman Steve Gibson had appealed against the ruling, protesting that too many players were ill or injured for the club to field a full team, but their appeal was rejected.
The 3-point deduction on Middlesbrough also preserved Coventry City's top flight status for the 31st season running.
Brighton survive in relegation decider
Brighton & Hove Albion had a traumatic season, the debt-ridden club propping up the League for virtually the entire season. Their precarious financial position had forced the club's directors to sell the Goldstone Ground. Yet on the penultimate day of the season they moved above Hereford United, another club with major financial problems, and the final day of the season saw the two clubs battle it out in a relegation-decider at Edgar Street. Hereford needed to win while Brighton only needed a draw to survive. At half time the score was 1–0 to Hereford but Brighton equalised in the second half against the run of play. The match finished 1–1 and, with the teams level on points, the Seagulls stayed up on goals scored while the Bulls were relegated to the Conference.
Chesterfield reach the FA Cup semi-final
Chesterfield, playing in the third tier of English football, reached the FA Cup semi-final. On the way to the semi-final they beat Nottingham Forest 1–0 and Bolton Wanderers 3–2, with a hat trick from a young Kevin Davies. In the semis they met Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. After going 2–0 up Boro bought it back to 2–2, but not after controversy when Jonathan Howard's shot hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly crossed the line,[citation needed] but was waved off by the referee despite the linesman calling it in. The match finished 3–3 AET and Chesterfield went on to lose the replay 3–0. Boro's win however led to a defeat in the FA Cup Final, in which a season later they became the first team to lose three domestic finals in a row.
Stockport County
Stockport County, also playing in the third tier of English football, reached the Football League Cup semi-final. In the first round they beat Chesterfield 4–2 over two legs. In the second round they defeated Division One team Sheffield United 7–3, also over two legs. The third round they came up against former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park winning 1–0 in front of a large away crowd.[citation needed] In the fourth round they met West Ham United, drawing the first tie 1–1 at Upton Park before a 2–1 win at Edgeley Park. In the quarter-final, County met Southampton at home, in a match they drew 2–2. In the replay, County unexpectedly won 2–1, with goals from Brett Angell and Andy Mutch. Playing their fourth Premier League team in Middlesbrough, County lost their first leg at home 2–0, conceding goals from Mikkel Beck and Fabrizio Ravanelli. In the second leg, County took the lead after 6 minutes, through Sean Connelly. However, with no further goals scored, they lost 2–1 on aggregate. They remain the only lower league team to have defeated four top division teams in an English Cup competition.[citation needed] In the other cup competitions County reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, eventually losing to Birmingham City and the Northern Final of the Auto-Windscreens Trophy, this time losing to Carlisle United. They maintained their league form during this period, and despite playing 67 games, finishing second in the league, two points behind champions Bury, securing promotion with a 1–0 win at Chesterfield's Saltergate, the winning goal headed in by Brett Angell.
Successful players
22-year-old Manchester United midfielder David Beckham received the PFA Young Player of the Year award as well as collecting a Premiership title medal.
Chelsea's talismanic Italian striker Gianfranco Zola was voted FWA Footballer of the Year as well as collecting an FA Cup winner's medal.
Alan Shearer finished as the Premiership's top scorer with 25 goals in 31 games.
Dion Dublin's 14 Premiership goals almost single-handedly saved Coventry City from relegation.
19-year-old striker Emile Heskey was recognised as one of the Premiership's hottest young talents after helping Leicester City win the League Cup and finish in the top half of the league.
Honours
| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| FA Premier League | Manchester United (11/4*) |
| FA Cup | Chelsea (2) |
| Football League Cup | Leicester City (2) |
| Football League First Division | Bolton Wanderers |
| Football League Second Division | Bury |
| Football League Third Division | Wigan Athletic |
| FA Community Shield | Manchester United |
England national team
Georgia  | 0–2 |  England |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Sheringham  15'Ferdinand 37' |
| England | 2–0 |  Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Sheringham 20' (pen.) Fowler 55' |
| England | 2–0 | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Sheringham 43' Shearer 90' |
Report |
| England | 2–1 |  South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Lee 20' Wright 76' |
Masinga 43' |
Poland  | 0–2 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Shearer 5' Sheringham 90' |
League tables
FA Premier League
For the fourth time in five seasons, Manchester United won the Premier League title. Despite inconsistent form early in the season, including a run that saw them concede 13 goals in three matches, they only lost two more league games all season, going top at the start of February and never surrendering their lead.
The next three sides were separated only by goal difference. Newcastle United finished as runners-up for the second successive season; any hopes of a title challenge were derailed by the shock resignation of inspirational manager Kevin Keegan in January, though they rebounded somewhat under new manager Kenny Dalglish to claim second place. Arsenal, despite a turbulent start to the season which saw manager Bruce Rioch sacked just before their first match and not be formally replaced by Arsène Wenger until the start of October, recovered well to finish in third place. Liverpool finished fourth, having actually lead the table for much of the first half of the season, until their form collapsed after the turn of the year. Aston Villa completed the top five.
Other success stories of the Premier League season included Chelsea, who won the FA Cup to end their 26-year wait for a major trophy and in Ruud Gullit had the first foreign manager to win a major trophy in English football. Newly promoted Leicester City defied the critics who expected them to go straight back down and not only secured survival with a ninth-place finish, but also lifted the League Cup.
Middlesbrough experienced a unique season, they were runners-up in both domestic cups, but a three-point deduction for postponing a league match at short notice just before Christmas ultimately saw them relegated at the end of the season. Coventry City were the lucky team who stayed up at Middlesbrough's expense, while the other two relegation places went to Nottingham Forest after three years and newly promoted Sunderland.
Wimbledon defied the odds to extend their top flight tenure into its twelfth season, with an impressive eighth place league finish (having occupied the top five places for much of the season) and also by reaching the semi-finals of both cups. Leeds United were the lowest scoring team in the Premier League after the early season dismissal of long-serving manager Howard Wilkinson, who was succeeded by George Graham, but they managed to climb clear of the relegation battle to finish 11th. A terrible start to the season cost Ray Harford his job as Blackburn Rovers manager in late October, with interim manager Tony Parkes not securing the club's first win in the league until the following month, leaving them bottom of the division just 18 months after being champions, but Blackburn improved as the season went on and finished a secure 13th.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 76 | 44 | +32 | 75 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Newcastle United | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 73 | 40 | +33 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 62 | 32 | +30 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 68 | |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 61 | |
| 6 | Chelsea | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 59 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[b] |
| 7 | Sheffield Wednesday | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 51 | −1 | 57 | |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 56 | |
| 9 | Leicester City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 47 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[c] |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 46 | |
| 11 | Leeds United | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 46 | |
| 12 | Derby County | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 46 | |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 42 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 42 | |
| 15 | Everton | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 42 | |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 41 | |
| 17 | Coventry City | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 41 | |
| 18 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 40 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |